On Monday, January 13, TU Delft is organizing a symposium focused on waterborne transport in the context of climate change. With significant contributions from DigiShapers Mark van Koningsveld and Floor Bakker of TU Delft, Fedor Baart and Frederik Vinke of Rijkswaterstaat, and Gerben de Boer of TU Delft, we warmly invite the DigiShape community to attend and participate.
Rethink and redesign waterborne transport systems
Drought, floods, rising sea levels—climate change is forcing us to rethink and redesign waterborne transport systems. Think of the extreme droughts that caused the number of daily transits in the Panama canal to drop by almost 50%, leading to massive vessel queues. Or that caused the Yangtze in places to reduce to half its normal width, and its water level to drop to the lowest level since records began in 1865.
Similar extremes have occurred in Europe, with prolonged droughts impacting the transport from the Port of Rotterdam to the German and Swiss hinterland over the Rhine. And with salt intrusion measures at the locks of IJmuiden impacting the accessibility of the Port of Amsterdam.
Economic damage
Supply chain disruption is an important climate impact that requires our attention. The stakes are high: climate disruptions trigger a cascade of economic consequences with goods and freight facing delays, which in turn causes production loss and economic damage in industry. This in turn will cause prices of goods to increase.
Inspire each other during the symposium
Young engineers, scientists and practitioners are designing and implementing innovative systems to ensure goods reach their destinations while adapting to a changing climate. During this interactive symposium you will discover cutting-edge insights from leading experts and uncover solutions for navigating these pressing challenges.
Don’t miss this opportunity to get inspired and reflect together on the wide range of opportunities that new tools offer. Read more and register on the TU Delft website
Preliminary programme
13:00 Opening by Mark van Koningsveld, professor of ports and waterways at TU Delft
Introduction into the importance of waterborne transport and climate change
13:10 Fedor Baart, data and modelling expert and advisor at Rijkswaterstaat
How to deal with deceptive floodrisk maps?
13:40 Floor Bakker, postdoc researcher in the SeaAI programme at TU Delft
How to quantify water transport performance in (open and closed) estuaries?
14:10 Break
14:30 Frederik Vinke, PhD-candidate at TU Delft and advisor at Rijkswaterstaat
How to quantify the cascading effects of prolonged drought on inland shipping?
15:00 Gerben de Boer, Innovation Manager at Van Oord
Simulating for sustainability to improve the design of complex dredging operations
15:30 Closure by Mark van Koningsveld
Reflection on how climate change is posing new challenges for experts
